This Saturday, June 1, is the inaugural Feliciana Wildflower Festival, the kickoff event to a project with a much larger mission: to educate attendees on the importance of pollinators, and to effect social and economic change in the Felicianas.

“Clinton, Louisiana has literally been dying out in the past years,” says Arlene Culpepper, one of the event’s organizers and PR spokesperson. “While we have a newly opened Main Street area, we are still struggling economically and culturally,” Culpepper says. “We are hoping we can help revive the area by not only providing aesthetically pleasing offerings, but to help bring people together,” she says. And, ultimately, to drive tourism to this little corner of the world. 

Paul Davidson, a retired zoologist and current organic farmer and conservationist, has the vision of making the Felicianas a tourist destination for wildflower viewing, just like West Texas. Davidson operates a U-Pick blueberry farm on Muse Lane in Clinton, and is known for planting wildflowers around East Feliciana to beautify the region. 

As part of the Wildflower Project, the aforementioned larger mission that the festival is kicking off, Davidson and other farmers and conservationists in the area hope to educate people of all ages about the importance of pollinators to our global food supply. Planting wildflowers and native gardens that support butterflies, bees and other pollinators not only beautify the region, but support sustainability across the globe. It’s estimated that pollinators are responsible for one in every three bites of food we consume. 

“While our goals are lofty, we believe anything is possible!” Culpepper says. 

The festival will be held simultaneously in the Jackson and Clinton communities, about 12 miles apart, and both communities will have their fair share of attractions, including flower vendors, food options, and speakers.